The two friends continued to sprint towards the school, one with an umbrella over his head, the other holding a bag over his hair, trying to catch up to the friend in front of him.

Ace raised his speed, needing to catch up to his Isa so he could take shelter under the umbrella.

He made sure not to raise it too much to as to not slip but just enough to be able to catch up.

—Have I gotten faster?

He remembered his fight with the monster and his training from yesterday.

He got noticeably faster after only 2 events?!

The only reason he could think of for his speed raising was a level up.

He was only level 1 so it shouldn’t have been too hard to level up unless it’s different from your generic game.

But even still, he didn’t think one level up would be this noticeable.

He closed the distance between him and Isa quite quick, not even running at full speed, being aware of the current conditions and safety concerns.

He grabbed his friend’s shoulder and stopped him in place.

He turned his friend around with his right hand, revealing a scared face covering his friend’s face.

Ace tilted his head, put on a dark smile and started to speak in a slow, deep tone.

“You want to... let me under now?”

Isa shivered in reaction, pissing off his friend and facing the consequences that came with it.

“Eek! Fine, fine! Get under!”

“Hahaha... you pull some stuff like that again, and watch what happens!”

“Sorry, sorry...”

“Isa, look this way...”

Isa slowly looked over to Ace, revealing his face bit by bit...

Before he could fully see Ace’s face...

“HIYA!”

He flicked his friend’s forehead with power rivalling that of a bull charging at the challenger in a stadium.

“Ahhh… what was that for...”

Ace felt proud because of the intensity of the flick.

It may have been the best one he’s given out.

“Hahaha, mess with me again, I dare you...”

“I’ll get you back, just wait...”

“That revenge will have to wait for after school.”

He said as they reached the school’s doors, Ace stepping in for what would be the last time this year.

“Ahh... I never really liked this place but... it still gives me the feels.”

“The feels?”

Isa wondered why Ace would be in, “the feels”, after only walking to school.

“Don’t worry about it..”

“*sigh* Again with the brushing off..”

“Hurry up, we’re already too late.”

“I’m hurrying.”

They ran towards their home room and opened the door.

Their teacher was a woman around 30 with short, black hair and round glasses.

“Take your seats, you two are disrupting the class.”

Ace and Isa both took their seats quickly, doing their best not to interrupt.

They were allowed to choose where they wanted to sit at the beginning of the semester so their friends, Jin and Roy, were sitting close to them, stretching their body across the desk until they got to their seats.

Roy raised his voice a little once they got to their seats.

“Where were you two yesterday?!”

“Ace misses class sometimes, but Isa?! That never happens!”

Isa is one of the smartest kids in the school, he doesn’t care much for studies, but his parents get him new games if he gets high marks, so he maintains them and pays attention in class every day.

“I was out sick...”

“Same here...”

Nobody else knew about Ace going missing so he just played it off, not to make a big deal out of it.

He wasn’t as close to Jin and Roy as he was to Isa, so he wasn’t going to tell them about his whole, other world, situation.

He was going to tell his parents to tell the school he was going to be homeschooled or sent to a private school.

“Damn, both on the same day... that’s tough.”

“Yeah... it came out of nowhere.”

“Hey boys! Stop talking, you already disrupted my class once.”

The teacher shouted at them from across the class.

“Sorry!”

And he shut up for the rest of the period, just letting the time fly.

---

------

“A...!”

“Ac...!”

“Ace!”

“—!”

His head jolted up from the noise.

—Oh shoot... I fell asleep.

Isa was standing in front of his desk, waking him up.

“Get up. Next class is starting.”

Ace rubbed his eyes and stood up from his seat, following his friend towards the next class.

“Sorry... didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Just hurry up.”

And they went to the next class, where Ace just let the time fly, repeating what he did with the class before.

And he did the same with the next and the next, until...

*DING, DONG*

The bell rang, and school was finally over.

Him and Isa gave Jin and Roy a handshake, Ace being the only one who felt a stir in his heart as their hands left each other’s.

This wasn’t a heartbreaking hug or breakdown of tears, but the handshake still had value to him.

How would he not feel anything from saying goodbye to his friends for the next year?

Even if they thought it was a completely normal handshake, this was an important moment for Ace.

This was another thing he had to say farewell to for a whole year.

He wouldn’t be able to challenge them to basketball games anymore, handshake them anymore, fool around anymore, and just do regular high school boy stuff with them anymore.

He had to accept it though and get on with the next goodbye that came to him throughout the day.

So, he walked away from his two friends and went down the path that him and Isa took every day from school towards home.

It was still pouring outside, with Ace and Isa stuck under one umbrella.

Ace looked to his foot and kicked at the water that was falling from the sky.

—Rain is a God’s tears... huh?

He remembered that “God” of his and his all too cheery personality.

“Someone needs to throw that saying out.”

He could only think of that god laughing and smiling somewhere up in the sky, looking down at Ace like he was another toy apart of his collection.

“You good? You got a nasty look on your face.”

Isa cut in, interrupting Ace’s deep thought.

Ace regained his composure, bouncing back from his mind wandering.

“Yeah... nothing wrong.”

“Well... now you got something to worry about...”

His best friend said as they reached the convenience store, they always stopped by.

*sigh*

“Let’s just get it over with already...”

After a few minutes of waiting underneath the front of the convenience store, away from the rain, Isa came back out. He was holding two red popsicles and a huge, evil smile on his face which converted into an evil laugh when he reached Ace.

“HAHAHA... start sucking!”

He said with his arm stuck out, offering the cherry popsicle to his childhood friend.

“Just hand it over already...”

He grabbed the popsicle from his friend’s hands, removed the wrapper and just as he was about to put it in his mouth...

*SNAP*

“HAHA... This one’s going down in the history books!”

Isa said as the flash started to disappear from Ace’s eyes, taking a picture of this legendary moment.

Isa put the phone down after taking a picture to experience the rest of the moment with his own eyes.

Ace looked at his friend, anger burning in his eyes, and the popsicle about to be thrown to the ground in reaction.

He remembered the bet and his last day here, so he stuck the popsicle in his mouth with no hesitation.

“UGH!”

He ran over to the garbage can in front of the store and started coughing in front of it, spitting out all the popsicle remains from his mouth.

The crimson block of ice hit all his expectations of being a colored pile of garbage.

“HAHAHAHA!!”

His friend was laughing hysterically in sight of his friend on the edge of vomiting.

“Laugh all you want! I’m not finishing this!”

“HAHAHAHA!!”

His friend continued to laugh, slowing down after a few seconds and rubbing his brown eyes filled with tears.

“It’s fine... don’t finish it. That was enough for me.”

“Hurry up already, let’s go home.”

Ace started to walk away from the store, opening his umbrella and leaving his friend behind as he rubbed his tears.

“Sure, sure.”

He finished rubbing his eyes and ran to catch up to his friend, trying not to get wet in the process.

The rest of the walk was just talking about normal stuff like games, TV shows, and other regular high school boy stuff.

Until they got back to their houses, which stood side by side, just as they did when they walked home.

Once they got to Ace’s front door, Isa stopped for a second and dropped his tone.

“I know we talked about explaining and all that, but it seemed like whatever you went through was hard on you, so I don’t want to force you. You okay with explaining?”

Ace turned around to Isa’s direction but kept his face towards the ground.

—I still have time, it’s too early to tell him...

Ace looked up at Isa...

His lips stretched out across his face, but not too far as this smile was one that was a nervous but genuine one.

“Could you get on your game console? I’ll explain in a few hours, give me some time.”

Isa looked back and returned the smile, his a more stretched out and joyful one, in reaction to the game suggestion.

“Of course!”

And he ran towards his house, rushing inside.

Ace also went back into his house and closed the front door.

As he turned his body towards the inside of his house, he was reminded of that something that would never leave him. This feeling was one of guilt and regret and was something that he would remember for the rest of his life. He would be reminded of it every time he stepped into his house and he would have to deal with it, the memory crushing him every time he encountered it. He wanted the source of the memory to stick with him, because the memory itself was precious, and it contained happy moments. He only wanted all the bad memories to disappear, but that just wasn’t possible because of the circumstances behind this memory of his.

This memory was one that has been with him for 2 years now, him now being able to deal with it more than before, but it wasn’t something that could be brushed off so easily, so it hit him every time he faced the inside of his house.

He gave his head a small shake and entered the house, rushing up the stairs and continuing towards his room.

As he entered his room, he saw the traveler that he’s only known for about a day laying down on his bed. Only getting a glimpse of her blue hair, the rest underneath the blanket... she was sleeping out of boredom from not being able to do anything for about 6 hours, waiting for Ace’s return from school.

“I’ll let her sleep...”

He said as he turned towards the game console, seeing 3:18 PM printed on his clock as he rotated.

He then turned his console on, expecting his friend to be online.

When he saw the name “CrimmyOrteo” online, he invited him to the usual gun game, and they played for about an hour, Ace doing much worse than his friend, just as usual.

“Will you ever get better?”

Isa said, the words travelling directly through Ace’s blueberry colored headset and then into his ears.

“Shut up, I play basketball also, I don’t have the time to get better at both.”

“Excuses, excuses... I’m starting another game.”

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

Just as the next game was about to start, Ace felt a tap at his shoulder.

He looked back to see Aliza standing over him, her telling Ace that she was awake now with the shoulder tap.

“Actually Isa, wait a second, have to do something.”

“Got it.”

Ace muted his microphone and turned back to Aliza.

“He can’t hear me now.”

“How did school go?”

“Not bad... just felt like a regular day, which is what I’ve been hoping for.”

“That’s good... that’s good...”

She was fiddling her thumbs and moving her leg back and forth with her eyes in the direction of the console.

“Haha, you want to play?”

She was practically a dog, wagging its tail, waiting for treats.

“I mean, if it doesn’t trouble you, I’d be happy to.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He unmuted his microphone...

“Isa, I’m playing split screen this game, my cousin just came over.

“No problem, fine by me.”

Ace handed her a controller and she sat on the bed while Ace sat on his chair, adjusting his monitor so she could see.

“She’s not too good so don’t make fun of her.”

“Don’t worry, I’d only make fun of you.”

They started the game and Isa went on a rampage, wanting to show off in front of Ace’s “cousin”.

“Wow! How can someone be that good!”

“Isa, you hear that? She’s praising you.”

“Haha, never thought I’d see the day when I’d be praised for being good at video games. “Tell your cousin I said “watch this.””

Ace looked back from his chair to look at Aliza.

“He says watch what he’s about to do.”

Aliza brought her body closer to the screen, watching Isa go on a 20-kill streak.

“Amazing! Ace? Why aren’t you that good?”

“HAHA! ACE COULD NEVER BE AS GOOD AS ME!”

Aliza heard that laughter through Ace’s headset, her also laughing, the laugh merging with Isa’s.

“AUGH! How does praise go to making me look bad?!”

They both continued to laugh, enjoying their friend’s reaction.

They finished up the game and Isa asked...

“Another one?”

Ace went silent for a few seconds...

He opened his mouth, but hesitated for a second, unsure if he was prepared.

He thought of everything that happened at midnight with his parents and worried that Isa would react the same.

---No... he definitely will...

Ace could only think that Isa would think of him as insane and that he developed some mental problems on his day away from home, but...

He didn’t have time to think about what Isa would think about.

If he told Isa later, Isa wouldn’t have the time to accept it as reality.

He would be forced to accept it... after Ace was gone...

Ace didn’t want that... he wanted a proper goodbye.

So... he lifted his head and spoke into the microphone...

“No... I think I’m ready... Isa... come over, I’ll explain everything now.”

His tone dropped along with his mood as the conversation they were about to have was nowhere near as fun as the video games.

“I’m coming.”

Ace shut off his console and looked over at the clock again. Seeing the 4:40 PM displayed on the screen, he got up and looked over in Aliza’s direction, his head facing towards the side of the bed. He was unable to face her as he was about to ask for another request.

“I’m probably going to need you again... could I ask you to help me out aga--”

Aliza quickly stood up from the bed and brought her face closer to his.

“Don’t look at me like you’re asking too much from me! I’ll come when you need me so make sure to call me!”

Ace lifted his head to face her and looked her in the eyes...

She looked a little mad, but a mad that you can be with someone close to you.

“Thank you... will do...”

After getting confirmation that she would be relied on if needed, Aliza left some final words of courage.

“Once again, stay strong down there.”

“If he doesn’t believe you, don’t hesitate to bring me out!”

She wanted to support him as much as possible right now, as a traveler and as a friend.

Ace isn’t the only one receiving stuff from Aliza. He brought her to a whole new world! He showed her technology she would never even dream of seeing! She got into fun arguments with him, had enjoyable challenges with him, promised to go along with him on his journey, and promised to help him along the way. This was one of the moments he needed her help, so she wanted to give it, she isn’t a stranger to him anymore. They would most likely be together for the next year, so she already thought of him as a friend, a close one at that.

“Forget about panicking and remember that I can convince them. Don’t lock yourself in a room or start to cry! Think of me!”

Ace received her words and as they planted themselves into his mind.

Once again, he thought of how lucky he was for being saved by Aliza.

Anything was possible in that other world...

He didn’t know much about it but, he could’ve been picked up by a slave trader, a demihuman with a little too much hatred, a clan of Toriel, and all the other possibilities he didn’t know about.

If he was picked up by one of these people, he could’ve been tortured, eaten alive, and sold as a slave but..

He got helped by a random traveler who had no connection to him at all.

Not only was he saved by her... she fed him, showed him around town, explained everything he wanted to know to him, and now...

She is in his world, continuing to help him.

He should be the one showing her around, explaining stuff to her, and letting her enjoy her stay, but... she’s just been helping him out the whole time, not caring about herself at all...

He was truly grateful to her for that.

She knew how important this day was to him and decided not to be selfish.

“Thank you.”

“Aliza, can you do something for me?”

Aliza tilted her head, wondering what he could ask from her in a situation like this.

“Me and my friend do this sometimes...”

He stuck his face out in front of her.

“Flick my forehead real hard. It’ll wake me up a little.”

Aliza looked at him for a second, but then nodded her head and lifted her hand towards his face.

She gripped her middle finger with her thumb as hard as she could, not knowing how hard she was supposed to go.

She let her middle finger go with an amazing amount of force to let it collide with Ace’s forehead.

Ace’s face was pushed away from Aliza’s, forcing his legs to take a few steps back but not too many, as to not crash with the console behind him.

“OW!”

“You told me to do it!”

Ace lifted his hand onto his forehead, feeling the pain from the impact.

“Don’t worry... it’s just a normal reaction, I’m not mad, more grateful if anything. You have a really strong flick though... are you a gorilla dressed as a human?”

“I don’t know what a gorilla is, but... that sounded super rude.”

“It’s this big, hairy animal that’s about the same height as a human. It walks on its hands and legs and is much stronger than an average ma--”

“—! OW!”

A sharp pain was coming from his foot.

He looked down to see Aliza’s foot jammed into his own, her continuing to rub it in for a few seconds.

“So, that was an insult... jerk.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Take your foot off!”

She raised her foot off of his and Ace grabbed his foot almost instantly after it came off.

“Just this once because you have an important moment coming. You better show me what this gorilla looks like in payment for that insult, you’ve got me interested.”

“Okay, fine... just don’t step on me again.”

“Hmph... don’t be rude and I won’t. Now, show me the gorilla you talked about.”

“*sigh* Fine...”

He grabbed his phone from his night table and searched up gorilla, then faced the phone towards Aliza.

“Amazing... these really do look strong! Can they talk?”

“Haha... no, but it’s said that humans evolved from them... I think... or that might be monkeys.”

“Monkeys?! What’re those?!”

“They look like gorillas but are smaller and not as strong.”

“Show me! Show me!”

She was like a little girl in a candy shop.

“Okay, okay, one second.”

He showed his phone to her again after a few seconds of moving his thumbs.

“Ahh! They’re kind of cute!”

“Haha... I guess. We have a place called a zoo in my city where they keep all different kinds of animals, I’ll try to bring you one day.”

She brought her face right up to Ace’s, her eyes lighting up.

“Yes please!”

“Haha... aren’t you a little too excited...?”

Backing away from her and blushing, Ace sort of felt like he was showing off when he saw Aliza like that.

“How could I not be?! I’m seeing all these new things! Make sure to show me! That’s a promise!”

“It depends on that God’s answer, I don’t have the power.”

“I’ll convince him! I definitely will!”

—Hmph... we’ll see about that...

“—?!”

—

———

The voice that once transferred into his head had returned, for only about half a second.

Ace looked up at the ceiling in reaction.

“Hey! You’re there, aren’t you! Talk to me! Hey! Say something! Don’t just roam in my head and disappear!”

Before he could finish talking to himself...

“Are you okay?”

Ace looked back down to Aliza, seeing her a little worried.

“It’s that god. He just spoke to me then disappeared.”

“Oh, what did he say?”

“He said... “we’ll see about that...” when you said you would convince him.”

“He’s just as rude as you, isn’t he?”

“Don’t compare me to him! He’s scum! Garbage!”

Before the argument could progress any further...

*DING*

The doorbell rang, Isa reaching Ace’s front door.

Ace dropped his playful, angry attitude and his mood darkened.

“Here we go...”

Aliza also turned more serious, realizing what the sound meant.

“Don’t forget my words...”

“I won’t...”

And he stepped out the room, walked down the stairs, and opened the door.